The present disclosure relates generally to computing systems, and more particularly to server selection using competitive evaluation.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is a computing system. Computing systems may vary in complexity from a single processor operating in relative isolation to large networks of interconnected processors. The interconnected processors may be in close proximity to each other or separated by great distances both physically and as distance is measured in computer networking terms. The interconnected processors may also work together in a closely cooperative fashion or in a loose weakly coupled fashion. Because technology and processing needs and requirements may vary between different applications, the structure and arrangement of the computing system may vary significantly between two different computing systems. The flexibility in computing systems allows them to be configured for both specific users, specific uses, or for more general purposes. Computing system may also include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information based on the needs of the users and the applications.
Additionally, some examples of computing systems include non-transient, tangible machine-readable media that include executable code that when run by one or more processors, may cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of methods described herein. Some common forms of machine readable media include, for example, floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, RAM, PROM, EPROM, FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, and/or any other medium from which a processor or computer is adapted to read.
Computers, processors, and software systems often share information and provide computing services for each other. In order to do so, a server or some other computing system may provide an interface through which service requests are made by the other computing devices or clients. In these service-oriented architectures (SOAs), the clients generally make a service request by sending a request message to the server hosting the service using, for example, a networking protocol. The server receives the message, activates the requested service, and returns a response message with the result. For example, a very basic form of services is demonstrated by a request for a web page. A client, such as a web browser, sends a Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) request to a web server which receives the HTTP request and generates a response containing the requested web page, that is then returned to the web browser.
Most computing systems and clients have access to many servers providing a large array of services that the clients are able to use. This client-server approach, however, does not generally include overt handling of load-related issues. For example, when clients are able to freely select the servers which provide each of the requested services, there are often few controls and/or management mechanisms that prevent and/or limit service requests from being concentrated in one or more servers, which may become overloaded with service requests and then may become correspondingly less responsive in processing those service requests. This may be further exacerbated by the use of distributed processing to handle each service request where one server relies on other servers, and the services they provide, to process a service request.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide improved systems and methods for managing the selection of a server for the handling of a service request.